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Athletics: Harpenau to assist Rebels

Former UAFS baseball coach Dale Harpenau didn’t have to look long to find another job.

Fort Smith Public Schools Athletics Director Jim Rowland confirmed that Harpenau has been hired as an assistant baseball coach at Southside. The position came open last month when assistant coach Trey Holloway was named the head coach at Greenwood.

Southside coach Craig Jones, who played college ball for Harpenau and later coached under him at Arkansas Tech, is elated. Jones served as a graduate assistant at Tech in the fall of 1998.

“I’ve worked with him before and I played for him,” Jones said. “I was with him in the fall of ‘98 before my first high school job in Poteau. It’s kind of an honor in a way. This guy’s helped me out before, and any chance I can help him out, I would do the same.”

Harpenau’s position will allow him to watch his son, Ty, compete for the Rebels in the spring of 2015.

“You couldn’t ask for any more experience, just from his baseball knowledge,” Jones said. “It’s going to be great to be able to turn to him and get a second opinion.”

Jones also announced that former Rebel Weston Burgess will serve as a volunteer coach with the program next season.